This invention relates to a system and methods for conducting experimental research. Research and development is often the most expensive and unpredictable activity in a corporation. Well-equipped laboratories, highly skilled scientists, and high-risk programs are necessary components of R&D efforts. Unlike manufacturing, supply chains, marketing, or sales activities, it is difficult to control the output or efficiency of R&D. Inventions cannot be predicted and scheduled, and, thus, timelines in R&D are measured in years. In addition, research is typically undertaken by one-at-a-time experimental approaches, and, thus, the resulting costs per experiment associated with R&D are enormous.
For example, at the time this application is being filed, the average, fully burdened cost of a staff scientist and a research assistant in the United States is estimated to be $500,000. This pair of researchers would be extremely productive if they executed 1000 experiments per year. Therefore, the cost per experiment for this pair of researchers is at least $500.
As product development cycles continue to shrink in every industry, competition increases, and pressure to grow and build businesses mounts, R&D organizations must increase their innovation rate and productivity significantly. During the past decade, technologies have emerged in pharmaceutical research, chemicals research, and materials science research to improve the effectiveness of R&D. These technologies are based on high-throughput technologies that enable the execution of 100 to 10,000 times more experiments per unit time compared to traditional research approaches. High-throughput technologies merge automation, miniaturization, informatics, chemistry, and physics to create systems that rapidly synthesize, process, screen, and analyze compounds, mixtures, or compositions of matter. With these technologies, the cost per experiment can drop to tens of dollars and time scales can be reduced from years to weeks or months.
In general, access to high-throughput technologies is limited to large conglomerates that can afford to create specific technologies internally or to pay specialized companies for exclusive access. Even within large conglomerates, only a fraction of the R&D organization has access to these state-of-the-art research platforms. The main limitation to broad access is the overall expense in building a capability that enables the execution of at least 100,000 experiments per year. It is necessary to spend millions of dollars to build the capability and it is not possible to spend 1/10 or 1/100 the amount to get 1/10 or 1/100 of the experimental throughput.
Individual chemists within large and small organizations often cannot effectively access high-throughput technologies, yet these technologies are essential to compete and to increase R&D efficiency and the rate of innovation. Accordingly, there is a need for methodologies, apparatus, and/or business processes which enable chemists to design, order, and obtain data to a plurality of experiments or measurements in a timely and cost-effective manner.